Laundry bag



Dec. 17, 1940.

c. L. VADNAIS LAUNDRY BAG Filed July 22, 1936 INVENTOR, 675/125 Z2. fad/757s.

ATTORNEYS,

Patented Dec. 17, 1940 PATENT OFFICE LAUNDRY BAG Charles L. Vadnais, Leavenworth, Kans., assignor of fifty-one per cent to Howard L. Fischer,

St. Paul, Minn.

Application July 22, 1936, Serial No. 91,893

6 Claims.

This invention relates to receptacles generally, and particularly to laundry bags of the nature employed to contain a charge of clothing or the like while it is being passed through the washing machines of a laundry.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a laundry bag usable as aforesaid, and constructed of elastic material so as to insure long life and facilitate handling the clothes being washed.

Another important aim of this invention is the provision of a laundry bag, which comprises a sack of elastic material, such as rubber, having a plurality of perforations and made to present undulations over the inner surface of the bag material, whereby as agitation occurs, friction will be established, between the inner surface of the wall of the bag, to the end that the removal of foreign matter from the fabrics is expedited.

An even further aim of this invention is to provide a laundry bag, having as a part thereof, a neck that defines the mouth of the bag, and which is made of thicker material of a resilient nature, for the purpose of maintaining the mouth closed without employing means other than the inherent resiliency of the bag walls themselves.

Other objects of the invention, including relation of parts and advantages to be gained from the employment of such an article, will become apparent during the course of the following specification, referring to the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a laundry bag made to embody this invention.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal, central section through the same.

Fig. 3 is a cross section through the bag, taken on line IlI--l1I of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 4 is a top end view, showing the neck of the bag distended for purpose of loading or unloading.

It is known in this art that containers for clothing being washed break down under the action of chemicals and water to such an extent that renewal becomes necessary so often that the expense involved is prohibitive. The conventiona1 netting sack has heretofore been employed, but it has been found that a laundry bag made of resilient, water impervious and non-absorbent material has distinct advantages over any other type.

Ordinary rubber bags having perforations formed through the walls thereof are not in themselves sufficient to fulfill the purposes of this invention, and in order to completely realize the full value of a laundry bag of the aforementioned character, the same should comprise a sack of elastic material such as rubber, which includes a bulbular body 6, provided with a plurality of perforations 8, and having its inner surface un- 5 dulated as at I0 so that as the bag is passing through the washing machines, definite frictional engagement with the charge of fabrics therein will contribute toward the eflicient cleansing thereof. 10

Neck [2 of the sack has walls that are appreciably thicker than the walls of the bulbular body 6, so that when force is exerted to open the mouth of the bag, the same will be susceptible of stretching and presenting an opening [4 that is substantially the same distance across as the diameter of bulbular portion 6. When no force is exerted to hold the mouth of the bag in the open condition, the inherent resiliency of the material in the thickened wall of neck [2 will maintain the mouth of the bag completely closed.

Openings [4 are formed through the thickened wall of neck l2 at points diametrically opposite each other, and openings I4 are arranged in pairs so that when outward radial force is applied through the medium of suitable brackets IS, the wall of neck l2 will move outwardly from the longitudinal central axis of the laundry bag to equal extents.

Perforations 8 .allow the passage of water to and from the cavity formed within the bag and the toughness and ability of the material to withstand the action of detergents, acids and other destructive agents, is such as to insure long life. Even though the initial expense is somewhat greater than the cost of fabric bags, it has been found that in the long run bags of the character contemplated are highly advantageous.

It is conceivable that bags presenting different structural characteristics than the one illustrated might embody this invention, and while the preferred form has been shown and described, it is desired to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is 5 claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A laundry bag of the character described comprising a sack having a bulbular body provided with a plurality of perforations through the wall thereof; and a neck of normally small relative diameter extending from said body having a series of openings formed through its wall adjacent the edge thereof, the wall of said neck being appreciably thicker than the wall of the body to allow the neck to stretch without unduly attenuating the wall thereof and to permit distending the mouth to a cross sectional area substantially the same as a cross sectional area of the body for purpose of introducing and removing a charge of material.

2. A laundry bag formed of rubber or like material, comprising a sack having a bulbular body provided with a plurality of perforations through the wall thereof, an automatic self-closing neck extending integrally from said body, the wall of said neck being appreciably thicker than the wall of the body to permit distending of the mouth to a cross-sectional area substantially the same as the cross-sectional area of the body to allow the neck to be stretched without unduly attenuating the wall thereof and for the purpose of introducing and removing a charge of laundry.

3. A laundry bag made of rubber or the like, comprising a sack having a bulbular body provided with a plurality of perforations through the Wall thereof, and an automatic self-closing neck portion formed integral with the bulbular body portion and extending therefrom, the crossseotiona l thickness of said neck being thicker than the wall of said bulbular body, the thickness of the neck tapering uniformly to the thickness of the wall in the integral formation of the body and neck of said bag to permit the stretching of the neck to a wide open position to facilitat-e the loading and unloading of said bag.

4. A rubber laundry bag having an integral one-piece construction, a body portion formed of a bulbular nature, and an automatic selfclosing neck formed projecting from and integral with said body to provide a self-closing onepiece laundry bag, with a neck opening stretchable to virtually the cross-sectional area of the largest part of the bulbular body portion.

5. A laundry bag formed of rubber or like material comprising a sack having a body provided with a plurality of perforations'through the wall thereof, said body being bulbular when filled, an automatic self-closing neck extending integrally from said body, the wall of said neck being appreciably thicker than the wall of the body to permit distending of the mouth to a cross-sectional area substantially the same as the crosssectional area of the body to allow the neck to be stretched without unduly attenuating the wall thereof and for the purpose of introducing and removing a charge of laundry.

6. A laundry bag formed of rubber or like material, comprising a sack having a body provided with a: plurality of perforations through the wall thereof, an upper portion in said body having outwardly rounded walls, an automatic selfclosing neck extending integrally from said upper portion of said body, the wall of the neck being appreciably thicker than the wall of the body to permit distending of the mouth to a cross-sectional area substantially the same as the cross-sectional area of the body to allow the neck to be stretched without unduly attenuating the wall thereof and for the purpose of introducing and removing a charge of laundry.

CHARLES L. VADNAIS. 

